I need Astro fan advice

you can get $5 cheap seats and go stand by the Conoco pump in left field.  be sure to get there early (probably only 30 minutes with it being Wednesday and us sucking right now), but spots along the railing fill up quick and are hard to maintain through pee breaks and beer runs (you can snag beer guys on their way by though)

The Best place to park is:  gotta get there early to find free street parking (but not before 6pm or you might get ticketed)... you'll find more free spots north and east of the stadium away from downtown (but lock your doors and put your detachable stereo face in your glove, if you know what i mean)... otherwise it's surface lots and parking garages and they get cheaper the farther away you get

or

Don't drive, get to the game this way:

take the metro or the city bus (http://www.ridemetro.org/), depending on where you're staying ($1 per ride, $2 roundtrip).  i've taken the 82, coincidentally, from the last three places i've lived.  it runs down westheimer to louisiana, up to McKinney, and over to the park, dropping you off three blocks from the home plate entrance.

If you're tailgating, you've gotta:

i don't know about "tailgating", but the B.U.S. and Home Plate Bar (or whatever it's called) are both good pregame watering holes.  if you go to the Home Plate place, be sure to go ALL THE WAY to the top.  i was there several times before i even knew there was a third floor and it's much cooler up there.  main street is just blocks away and live sports bar, slainte (who i think still do $1 beers after games), and flyer saucer bar are all good pre and post game places to go.

Make sure and get a picture of :

i don't know.  i don't really take many pictures at MMP, but you can go take a picture from the end of the train track, or get a picture of our Texas-sized scoreboard.

Make sure you order a (Dodger Dog, et al):

nothing's really much to write home about in my opinion.  i lived in D.C. for a while and caught a few O's games.  they have much better food than MMP.  i guess a BBQ Tater, since you're in Texas.

Thirsty? Order a: Ice Cold Beer (got that one already, thanks)

yeah, but make sure you find the 24oz. beer stands.  more brew for your money.  seems like it's not consistant where they are, but the place out by the Crawford Boxes, and the bar up in the upper deck, are both good bets to be selling them.

Make sure you pick _ for the scoreboard race:

i think they've gone to cartoon Astro alumni (Baggy, Wynn, and Nolan) on hummers (used to just be HUT, H1, and H2), or at least that's what they did on Sunday.  i don't really like it.  for the record, the Toy Cannon won on Sunday, so Wednesday will probably be one of the others.  i'll be there tomorrow and will let you know who wins then.

Get your pre/post game drink on at:

see above

If I had to tell you one other thing for your gameday experience, it would be:

don't leave your seat during the 7th inning stretch.  you can't come all the way to Texas for a ballgame and not sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas!"

The City:
Write your blog update at this local Coffeeshop:

just about every coffee shop and bar in Houston has wireless internet these days.  i don't know downtown places too well, but there are several on Westheimer between Montrose and River Oaks that are good candidates.  depends on where you're staying i guess.  somebody else might be of better service.

Take your run on this running trail or at this Park:

Buffalo Bayou downtown... you can get there from any number of access points (see http://www.buffalobayou.org/ ...beautifully landscaped and great views of downtown)... or you can go run on the mountain biking trails in memorial park (see http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/memorialpark2.html ...great run through the woods in the middle of the 4th largest city in the U.S... or you can run on the Seymour Liberman excercise trail with a few thousand fitness desperate Houstonites)... or Herman Park is a good place (see http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/hermannpark.html better scenery of the female variety, due to its proximity to Rice and the Med Center... also right in the middle of the museum district, and on the light rail line)... wow, didn't realize this is what i know the most about

You gotta see this in the city (preferably Cheap);

we've got great museums (http://www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org/default.asp?id=1), particularly MFAH, the fine arts museum.  if you're on the cheap, you can just check out the Contemporary Arts museum and pull your pockets out when you walk by the donation jar and then walk through the sculpture garden across the street.  for a truly unique artsy experience, look up the Rothko Chapel, especially if you're into meditation and other spiritual hippie shit.  also, you can take a drive down 225 and see the largest concentration of refineries in the U.S.  or we've got the Johnson Space Center (never been), good Theater (if you're into that), awesome restaurants (probably not in your budget), great local beer (St. Arnold Brewery)... really the list goes on and on.  of course, you're already planning on going to one of my favorite places in town.

You've gotta eat here:

my favorite restaurants are America's, Mark's, Capital Grill, Mockingbird Cafe... all really fancy dancy, once or twice a year type places.  you can look them up.  a bit cheaper, you can get good Baja Mexican food at Berryhill's (several locations throughout town), good Mexican at pretty much every other block, but I like Maria Selma on Richmond and Mandel, El Patio on Brazos in Midtown (deadly Blue Ritas), and Cafe Adobe on Westheimer and Shepard.  some good local chains are Pappas and Goode Company.  can't really go wrong with any of their restaurants.  unfortunately, i'm not very well versed in great BBQ in Houston.  Goode Company is... good.  I've heard Otto's is good.  Pizzitola's is alright.  Luling City Market is good.  that's probably enough for restaurants.  guess i know food even better than running.

Houston Women are the best because:

um, for the ladies on the site, i'll refrain comment.  i'll just say they're pretty nice, and there are a lot to choose from.  good places to look are midtown and rice village.  of course, it only takes one, and i've got mine.

If you do only one thing in the city:

go see an Astros game... and maybe ride the light rail and go tell all your friends that yes, Houston has mass transit.

I would add:

Make sure and get a picture of : the Biggio and Bagwell statues on Crawford Street.

Another cheap to do option is the Menil Collection http://www.menil.org/home just down the street from Rothko Chapel, it's free and usually quiet.

Houston women are the best because we dig baseball!

Enjoy the game and bring our boys some luck.